Lenses "Fish-eye" (fish-eye). Fisheye Lenses

Shooting with a fisheye lens is one of the better ways create creative shots, because it is also relatively inexpensive (about $650), so it is available to a wide range of amateur photographers. And the idea of ​​using such a lens has its own history.

It was originally used in meteorology to study the sky and cloud formations, and was called an "all-sky" lens. This optic has rapidly gained popularity in the field of general photography, as it creates unique effects due to the unusual distortion of lines. It can be used for a variety of purposes, both professional and recreational, with the latter being more common. Now let's move on to tips for using a fisheye lens that you can easily implement.

1. Radial blur

Shooting a wedding with a fisheye lens can be the bomb. As a rule, the action takes place in low light conditions, so this is a challenge for the photographer. Try to stand right in the center of the dance floor and shoot. To get a radial blur effect, slow down your shutter speed to about 1/25th of a second. Then you need to rotate the camera 90 degrees counterclockwise. To do this, hold the lens with your left hand and turn the camera body with your right. Not all shots will be successful, but almost always you will get interesting unusual images.

2. Exaggeration of the curvature of the Earth

Here, the use of a fisheye lens is as follows: the closer to the edge of the frame you place an object or line, the more it will be curved. For example, if you place the horizon in the middle of the image, it will look perfectly straight in the image. But if it is at the top of the frame, then the distortion will increase dramatically. Just be careful, because when you get home, you may find your feet at the bottom of the frame.

3. Shoot panoramic landscapes with a fisheye lens, but without distortion

Sometimes, fisheye can be used simply to capture everything you see in a scene. We don't always want distorted lines, but a super wide angle can be very useful. If you have a landscape where there are no straight lines, such as buildings, trees, telegraph poles, etc., then you can use this lens as a wide angle lens. When doing this, make sure the horizon is in the middle of the frame. You'll be able to capture an almost 180-degree view of the scene, but without the crazy distortion of a fisheye lens.

4. Capturing the entire ceiling

With no ordinary lens, you would not be able to capture such most ceiling, as shown in the image above. This massive ceiling with symmetrical architecture was photographed in Dallas, Texas. The photographer fiddled a lot, trying to mark the exact middle with a marker on the floor. When looking at this arch, the only thing that came to his mind was to use a fisheye lens.

5. Change the viewing angle

The fisheye is a fixed focal length lens, which means that you yourself have to move around to zoom. Experiment with different angles and lines, go low and shoot from the ground, even if that means lying on your stomach in the gravel on railway. Lean against a wall and use lens distortion to wrap the wall around the frame. Most importantly, do it with good mood Whether you're shooting for yourself or for clients, have fun.

This tutorial will show you how easy it is to create an effect in Photoshop. fish lens eye and color correct the image in Camera raw (Photoshop) and toning in HDR.

What you will learn in this lesson:

- Performing photo corrections in the RAW converter of Photoshop.

- using the transformation filter to create a Fish eye.

- moving content to certain areas (Content-Aware, Heal Brush)

- Create HDR toning and vignetting.

First of all, you need to open the image in Camera Raw. This is done via File > Open as > Camera Raw (File > Open as > Camera raw).

Set the settings as in the screenshot. In the future, they can be saved and used as a preset.

On the "Tone Curve" panel, you need to work out the contrast and intensity of the colors.

You also need to adjust the HSL panel settings:

In the sky area, it is worth applying the filter Graduation (Graduated).

After adjusting the image in Camera Raw, you need to open it in Photoshop.

There are several ways to create a fisheye effect:

1) Filter> Adaptive wide angle (Filter> Wide Angle) (This is a new feature that appeared in the CS6 version);

2) Filter> Lens Correction (distortion) (Filter> Lens Correction)

3) Editing> Transformations> Deformations (Warp transformation).

For this lesson, it will be most convenient to use Warp transformation.

Create a duplicate image (Ctrl + J) and go to Edit> Transform> Warp (Edit> Transform> Warp). Set the markers approximately as shown in the screenshot.

The transformed layer needs to be moved down a bit. The bottom layer will be visible in the corners. It's OK. Let's apply the Warp transformation again, but in the menu on the top panel, select the item Fisheye (Fish eye):

Now we need to compress the image. There is no need to worry about the fact that there are gaps on the sides. They will be populated using Content-Aware.

All created layers need to be merged. Use the Lasso tool to select the areas that will be filled.

To perform filling, you need to go to the menu Editing> Filling> Content-Aware (Edit> Fill> Content-Aware) or just press (Shift + backspace). Older versions of Photoshop don't have this feature. Then you can use the Patch tool or the Stamp Tool.

All the same must be done in all places where filling is required.

Now you can do top Images. Use the Spot Heal Brush Tool in Content-Aware mode to hide the extra elements.

The gray building in the background doesn't look good. It's better to remove it. To do this, create a duplicate of the main layer. You need to add a mask to it (Add Layer Mask) and hide all objects except the sky.

Now we need to select the gray building with the Polygonal Lasso Tool. The selected area must be filled taking into account the content. The previously created mask will prevent the program from taking content from the building and ground area. The parcel will be filled with content from the sky region.

Finally, you can merge all layers and create a vignette. This will help the command Filter> Lens Correction> Vignette (Filter> Lens Correction> Vignette).

Remained finishing touch. You should go to the menu Image> Adjustments and select HDR toning (Image> Adjustments> HDR toning). Settings should be made based on personal preferences.

After toning in HDR, you need to duplicate the layer (Ctrl + J). The duplicate blending mode needs to be changed to Multiplication (Multiply) and reduce transparency (Opacity) up to 45%.

Here is the result at the end of the tutorial:

Based on materials from the site:

Types of fisheye lenses

It is generally accepted that all varieties of "fish" have an angle of view of 180 °, this is not so. An image of a landscape with an angle of 180° gives a circular image, but the frame (film or matrix) is a rectangle. There are two ways to resolve this discrepancy, and three types of "fish":

• Circular- on the resulting frame, the image does not occupy its entire area, but only an inscribed circle. Such a lens has an angle of view of 180° in any direction (right-to-left, top-to-bottom, etc.). With the help of such a lens, you can take a picture, which will depict, for example, the entire sky. Examples of circular fisheyes:
  • Sigma AF 8mm f/3.5 EX DG FISH-EYE
  • MS Peleng 8mm f/3.5
  • Nikon 8mm f/2.8
  • "Sigma" 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM - for APS-C size digital cameras
• Diagonal(or "full-frame") - the resulting frame is entirely occupied by the image, however, the 180 ° angle of view corresponds only to the diagonals of the frame. In other words, the full circle that the circular type gives, this lens does not depict in the frame. AT this case vice versa: the frame fits into a circular image. Examples of lenses of this type:
  • Canon EF 15mm F/2.8 Fish-eye
• With image circle over 180°- usually also have a round image and the angle of view can be 220 °, like the Fisheye-Nikkor 6mm f / 2.8, which weighs 5.2 kg.

geometric distortion

With a very wide angle of view, strong perspective distortions inevitably occur: the background seems further than it actually is, and when moving away from the center of the field of view, the shape of objects is distorted. Usually, when creating wide-angle lenses, they strive to reduce distortion to zero - the curvature of straight lines that do not pass through the center. However, in this case it is fundamentally impossible to obtain a field of view angle of 180°, since then the edge of the field of view will be infinitely distant (the image given by such a lens is equivalent to a gnomonic projection of a sphere onto a plane). In addition, the magnification at the center is less than at the edge, which can be inconvenient in some shooting situations. Therefore, in order to achieve a field of view angle of 180 degrees or more, negative distortion (“barrel”) is deliberately introduced into the lens during its development. Then the magnification in the center becomes larger, and in this area the lens works as a less wide-angle lens. However, such compensation introduces its own distortions of perspective - protrusion of the center, and also leads to distortions in the shape of objects: straight lines (except those passing through the center) are depicted as curves.

Blends

Fisheye hoods are small (for diagonal ones) or absent altogether (for circular ones). It is not possible to increase the lens hood size, as the lens hood will fall into the frame. As a rule, they are built into the lens.

The exception is zoom lenses. It is understood that when shooting with such a lens at a short focus (that is, in the “fisheye” position), the hood will be removed, and for shooting at a long focus (when the lens no longer has such a wide angle of view and turns wide-angle), the hood can be used. An example of such a lens is the Pentax SMC Fish Eye DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED (IF).

Light filters

For the same reason as with lens hoods, it is not possible with fisheye lenses. traditional installation filters. Gelatin filters are installed not in front of the first glass of the lens, but behind the last one, which complicates their quick change and makes it impossible to rotate them (which is necessary for gradient and polarizing filters). Many fishies have built-in rotating filter systems with the usual array of yellow, orange and red filters.

Focusing and DOF

Fisheye photograph of the MC Zenitar 16mm f/2.8

The depth of field of fisheye is such that even with a relatively small aperture of 5.6, a space from 40-100 cm to infinity will enter the depth of the sharply depicted space. In other words, for most purposes, a lens set to infinity does not need auto or manual focus.

Other Features

• A shot taken with a Fisheye can easily be captured by the photographer's hand holding, for example, the focusing ring of the lens, the photographer's feet, or the base of a tripod.
• If the center of the frame falls below the horizon line, then the horizon in the picture is a convex upward line. In the opposite case (the center of the frame is above the horizon) - a convex downward line. If the center of the frame exactly coincides with the horizon line, then the horizon in the frame is straight.
• When using a circular fisheye on a smaller format camera, it turns into a diagonal one (bearing on 4/3 cameras, for example), or the circle becomes partially cut off (bearing on an APS-C matrix).
• In 2007, the first circular fisheye for cameras with an APS-C matrix appeared on the market - "Sigma" 4.5 mm EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM. When used on the respective cameras, the image circle is not cropped.

Story

The use of a fisheye lens is most often reflected in shooting outdoor extreme sports (parkour, skateboarding, BMX, etc.). We can say that it is the "main" lens in such shootings, allowing you to capture from a short distance both the "rider" himself and the architecture used when performing tricks. Also, the use of a fisheye lens is very common in shooting spherical panoramas, since it allows you to get a full panorama sphere with a minimum number of frames.

Famous photographers and their work

see also

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Scope: Creative scenes that imply image distortion (landscapes, portraits, etc.). These are lenses with a focal length of 8 to 15mm. (English fisheye), or, in Russian, "fisheye", is an ultra-wide-angle lens with a strong barrel-shaped distortion. The principle of "fish eye" is implemented in a well-known household appliance - a door peephole. Looking into it, you can get a live idea of ​​how the fish "sees". And the "fisheye" - because, as the guide to the domestic fish says, this is how "the fish observes objects located on the shore from the water." Most often, this is a lens with a field of view angle of up to 180 ° and a focal length of 14-16 mm (for film), and for APS-C type matrices - 10-12 mm.

Ultra wide angle lenses

Scope: Shooting of landscapes. it lens, which has an angle of view of 83 ° or more, and a focal length less than the small side of the film frame or m
matrixes. The term is also often applied to lenses whose focal lengths are wider than the wide-angle position of a kit lens. Unlike fisheye lenses (which are also ultra wide angle lenses), they almost do not distort the image and do not “break” the perspective. Thus, for a 35 mm camera, all lenses with a focal length of less than 24 mm will be ultra wide angle, since the frame size is 24 × 36 mm. For format matrices APS-C lenses with a focal length of 16 mm. and smaller - are ultra-wide angle

Wide Angle Lenses

O
Application area: Shooting landscapes. Many photographers prefer to use lenses of this type. If you want to do without a standard lens, then it can be argued that a lens with a focal length of 28 mm or 35 mm will be universal. Almost anything can be shot with these lenses. In portrait photography, telephoto lenses are often preferred. Many reporters and journalists use a wide-angle lens as their standard lens, but this is a matter of taste. In addition, most electronic flashes do not illuminate the same angle of view that wide-angle lenses do. These lenses are good for group shots. You don't need to be far away from the group being filmed, so the individual faces will be clearly distinguishable.

Standard lenses

Scope of application: Shooting portraits. These are lenses with a focal length that is approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame (for 35 mm film, this is a lens that has a focal length of 50 mm, although in theory this is 43 mm and
for APS-C matrices - 35 mm.). Angle of view from 40° to 51° inclusive (often around 45°). It is believed that the perception of the perspective of a picture taken with a normal lens is closest to the perception of the perspective of the surrounding world by a person. But the fact is that the eye practically sees at 180 degrees, although only objects that are in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdirect view are sharp. So with a standard lens, you can photograph just those objects that we see clearly, looking straight ahead. Standard lenses usually cost less than other types of lenses, but are of good quality. Their aperture ratio is usually 1:1.2, or 1:1.4, or 1:1.8, etc. In natural light, and without the use of a flash, they perform well.

A real photographer - whether he is an amateur or a professional - has a fair amount of funny gizmos made of steel, glass and aluminum with him. Some of them ended up here by accident, due to a stupid misunderstanding, and during the upcoming inventory will leave this place forever. At the same time, the rest will be to your taste and will continue to roam together. What is included in the standard amateur photographer's kit? A tripod, several lenses that are used most often, and, perhaps, that's all. And if about the need for this standard set no one argues, then as to whether a fisheye lens is needed, a lot of copies have been broken.

Differences when choosing photographic equipment

It is well known that an amateur who treats his passion as a hobby can spend a large amount without a twinge of conscience on acquiring the equipment he likes. The only limitation is financial possibilities. While for a specialist who perceives photography from a business point of view, everything is somewhat different. After all, even if it is a small private enterprise with one person in the state, it is controlled by the same mercantile laws of the economy. And if the workflow is sprayed into excesses, then the functioning of the business can be disrupted. After all useless thing will hurt the profitability and income of the company, so it is better to invest the same amount in your own projects. However, do not neglect the whims of the customer, who is ready to pay for them to take a photo of the appropriate quality or artistic level.

To be or not to be...

One of these controversial acquisitions can be attributed to the fisheye lens. We will try to figure out why it is needed, and in general, what is fisheye. Photos taken with this lens can be recognized among hundreds of others at a glance. After all, it has a strong distortion, which in some cases can be represented as original idea. Since curved trees or buildings in the photo have some kind of alluring appeal, they are more interesting than the usual images without distortion.

Historical digression

Only the fisheye camera and its increasing popularity is nothing new. After all, these lenses have been used by photographers from all over the world for entertainment purposes for more than a decade. The "fisheye" made it possible to obtain images with an angle of about 180 degrees and was well known to Soviet professionals. The photographs taken with the wide-angle Peleng served as a source of pride for everyone. However, to be fair, it needs to be clarified that recognized leaders Japanese were considered in this segment. Their designers went even further and designed a terrible device, the viewing angle of which reached 220 degrees. This almost impossible thing had colossal dimensions and a “modest” weight of just over 5 kg.

Lens types

Let's continue the explanations and define what a fisheye is, as well as what types of it are now found. Only two types of such lenses are considered traditional - circular and diagonal. The first is different in that when photographing, a circle fits into the frame, like the one in the viewfinder. While for the diagonal part of the image is cut off, and the entire hemisphere of space is placed only diagonally. It is important to clarify that in modern fisheye cameras for the phone, a slightly modernized subspecies of technology is used, in which the frame size is much larger than the matrix, and it accommodates almost the entire image. Therefore, this division is somewhat arbitrary, because, as you can see, there are also combined solutions.

Advantages and disadvantages

Although no one tries to dispute that capturing as much space as possible into the frame is not at all bad, not everything is so simple. When working in cramped conditions, this important advantage is of particular importance, because in order to find a good angle with conventional cameras, you have to climb walls or fences. What prevents you from installing fisheye on an iPhone? Why does such technology remain only in the hands of geeks? In fact, there is no secret to this, since with all the advantages of the "fish eye" comes a set of disadvantages, or features, to put it more delicately. Negative distortion means that the farther straight lines are from the center of the frame, the more distortion they get. As a result, with a camera, a fisheye photo acquires characteristics: The horizon line becomes part of a circle, and so on. It is these differences that hinder the development of this technology, while traditional ones only strengthen their positions.

Innovation

However, the story about what fisheye is does not end there, because quite recently the problem of distortion was solved. Moreover, such cameras are very actively produced and used with no less pleasure. The review of such equipment remained at the desired level and has a value of about 100-125 degrees, but the prospect played a cruel joke. Despite the fact that the lines remain straight, the background is noticeably moving away, and in the boundary zone of the frame, distortion increases several times. As a result, the VAZ becomes a limousine, and a pretty bride with slim waist gaining 80 kilograms in an instant. Therefore, hardly anyone will be satisfied with such photos, they are more appropriate in entertainment rooms with crooked mirrors than at corporate parties or weddings. The fisheye has no such drawbacks, and the proportions of the environment remain almost the same as in reality. Distortions of horizontal and vertical lines, of course, cannot be avoided, but which of the two evils is lesser must be decided individually. As a result, we can conclude that the question of what fisheye is and how practical it is to use it is better to leave it to your own discretion.

Shooting

In order to get decent photos when using a fisheye camera, it is important to know some tricks. All experience and knowledge of perspective with traditional cameras is best left at home, since what you observe through the viewfinder will not be like the world. The photographer may experience uncertainty - the distances when looking at objects through the eyepiece increase, and you can hit the fittings, equipment or even furniture. Therefore, installing fisheye on "Android" smartphones is practiced very rarely - these lenses have no place on the mainstream. After all, despite the increase in the capabilities of a person with a phone and a fisheye, he will not be able to realize them in fact due to the limitations of the gadget. Although this may be enough in a friendly circle, it is necessary to make sure that everyone has it. Otherwise, fish on an “Android” smartphone can turn into one that will cast doubt on the photographer’s qualifications and relationships with people close to him.

Processing methods

However, if the person with the camera is sure of own forces, then using computer technology and the technology of "gluing" several frames, you can get high-quality panoramic images. Their use for capturing interiors is especially relevant - if earlier it was very difficult to make a great shot in a limited space, now everything is easier. With the involvement of the "fisheye" they take a couple of pictures, after which they are glued together programmatically. The result is a beautiful panorama of the interior without distortion and inaccuracies.

panoramas

Therefore, the need for fisheye to create images with the effect of 3D presence is beyond doubt. After all, the complex of works on creating flash panoramas includes a lot of labor costs, in which photography is only a small part of them. Indeed, to build a full-fledged picture, four to eight shots are enough, after which they are glued together. At the same time, fisheye becomes indispensable assistant if creative shooting of architectural objects or their elements is carried out. After all, the city goes through a distortion through the lens of the lens and acquires very cute and original outlines that transform it in the most unusual way.

As you can see, even neglecting the fact that the "fisheye" cannot be used as the main tool, it is able to introduce remarkable optical illusions into images, which cannot be achieved not only by computer processing, but also by other photography methods. Indeed, in a frame made with a soul, flaws skillfully turn into virtues that easily blow up the foundation of the foundations of physics and change the perception of the world through the prism of human eyes.